


All In A Day's Work

by NoirAngel011



Series: Snapshots Of The March Girls; From 1861 To 1865 [7]
Category: Little Women Series - Louisa May Alcott
Genre: Best Friends, Crying, Jo needs help but doesn't know how to ask, Other, This is Little Women so we know who's at death's door, Wedding Day, like an excessive amount of crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:47:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21833914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirAngel011/pseuds/NoirAngel011
Summary: Jo and Laurie dance at Meg’s wedding. Here’s if that conversation went a little differently. Everyone needs some comfort every now and then.Now I know this sounds like the same stories I've written with a fancy new coat of paint, but I swear it’s different! And that the next story won’t include Jo crying… Based on the 2017 miniseries.
Relationships: Elizabeth March & Josephine March, Theodore Laurence & Josephine March
Series: Snapshots Of The March Girls; From 1861 To 1865 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1566445
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	All In A Day's Work

“I thought you'd be treading on my feet more.” Laurie laughed. It felt nice to have Jo’s hand clasped tightly in his hand.

“I’m counting like crazy you just can’t see my lips move.” she giggled. Her laugh was so sweet, Laurie wanted to hear it everyday for the rest of his days. Then her eyes trailed off to the side.

“Beth’s fading, Laurie.” They looked over as Amy helped Beth sit down at the long table set up in the yard. It was clear how weak she was.

Laurie didn’t see how Beth could be alright, but he had to be strong, for Jo. 

“She’ll be all right.” They never stopped dancing for the sake of formality, but there was no thought of passion to the dance anymore.

“Everything will be alright.”

Jo looked up at him, her eyes slightly glassy. Laurie missed that sparkle, the light that always seemed to be there. He hardly ever saw it anymore.

“Beth will dance at your wedding too!” He tried to be optimistic. Jo snorted, her smile returning to her face.

“My wedding? Oh no Laurie! There should always be at least one old maid in a family and I’ve made up my mind that it’s going to be me!”

Laurie would have fired back with some complaint about always missing her when he was away at college, but Jo wasn’t paying attention to him anymore.

“I worry a lot about her.” Jo’s voice was quiet and dull.

“I know you do.” Laurie moved his hand from her waist around to her back, rubbing it soothingly. Jo’s movement began to slow as she leaned closer to Laurie. Soon her head was resting on his chest.

“Would you like to go inside? I’m sure no one will miss us.” Laurie moved his hand up to her head and held her there. She had all but stopped moving by this point and he was standing still as well.

She looked like she was about to have another meltdown. Like she wanted to cry and scream. A lot of times, the fits helped her calm down and lift a lot of weight off her shoulders. It was always better if someone was there, sometimes she got really angry and they don't want her to break anything. She had been throwing tantrums like this her whole life, only now it felt like she had more heavy and emotional things that tied her down tighter, but at least she had Laurie to comfort her in the end.

“Please?” her voice sounded so weak. She was trying so hard to keep her tears at bay.

He led her around the group of people that were still dancing. He met Amy’s eyes sitting next to Beth. She definitely looked concerned for the two of her sisters, Jo included.

They walked into the house, and Jo went running up to the garret, letting go of her tight grip of Laurie.

Laurie followed her up, grabbing a small hand towel off the kitchen counter and wetting it in a bowl of water that they had been using for washing off berries. Sure, the water wasn’t super clean, but Jo always got super worked up and her temperature rose during her tantrums. So it was good to have something to cool her off.

Jo was flopped down on her couch, her fingers gripping into the upholstery.

“It’s okay to cry, Jo.” He told her as he set the rag down on a nearby shelf and walked towards her.

“I just can’t force the tears out. But I’m so overwhelmed.” Jo rolled over onto her back, looking up at the ceiling.

“Then relax. Let yourself calm down and maybe you’ll find comfort in your own mind.” He sat down next to her and brushed a hand through the loose pieces of her hair. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“This dress is itchy,” she grumbled. Laurie laughed.

“It’s the height of fashion.” he grabbed her hand, stroking over her knuckles with his thumb.

She huffed, blowing her hair out of her face. He smiled at her, trying to give her some sort of comforting tie to the world.

The tears started soon enough. Jo finally broke and released all her pen tup emotion. Laurie held her hand, letting her cry into his leg as she was curled up around him.

“I just worry, so, so much. I don’t want anything bad to happen. She’s never been the same!” Jo was so broken, he could see it. Ever since the scarlet fever Beth had never been the same, and that took a desperate toll on Jo as well. She worried so much for her sister and didn’t want any harm to come to her. 

“Jo, I know you want to do everything you can, we all do. But worrying isn’t always the answer. Maybe you just need to step back and help her from afar.” he tried to advise her, but he wasn’t sure how good his advice was.

“What good could that do.” Jo mumbled, sniffling. Her tears had ceased but her eyes were still damp.

“I don’t know, Jo. You just have to be strong. Beth doesn’t want to see her sister in pain or struggling. She wants to see you happy.” Laurie gently helped her sit up against him, pulling her into his lap.

“I know, and I try, but it’s just so hard.” She wiped at her eyes with the side of her palm.

“Just relax.” He reached out for the wet rag her had set down on the nearby shelf, bringing it over and pressing it against Jo’s forehead.

She almost eled into his arms, letting him hold her and support her there. She leaned her head back against his shoulder.

They could still hear the music playing outside, and everyone’s laughter as they celebrated Meg’s happiest day. But Jo was content inside wrapped dup with Laurie, and he was okay with that too.

She slowly let her eyes drift closed. Laurie moved backwards so he had his back pressed against the couch. He laid his head back on the couch too, falling asleep quickly alongside her.

Even when everything became dark and all she wanted to do was cry, Jo knew she could always count on Laurie to be by her side. And Laurie would always be there to calm her down and keep her head straight as her imagination ran wild.


End file.
